A illness has forced Jessica Eye
to pull out of a proposed flyweight clash against Andrea Lee
at
UFC Fight Night 197.
As a result, Cynthia
Calvillo will step in to face Lee on Nov. 13.
MMAjunkie.com was first to report the new booking. UFC Fight
Night 197 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined
by a featherweight tilt pitting Max
Holloway against Yair
Rodriguez.
Eye announced her withdrawal in a recent Instagram story.
“[This past Thursday], I thought I was dealing with an allergic
reaction to fish eggs that I didn’t notice on my sushi [roll] until
it was too late,” Eye wrote on Instagram. “Extremely allergic to
eggs. Thursday night is when the fever started. So I followed
protocol for when I am exposed to a food allergy. Thursday was
rough but woke up on Friday feeling OK but [with] brain fog, which
is usually [a] symptom after I have an allergy attack or exposure
to foods I’m allergic to.
“Friday was a normal day and I was ready for this weekend’s event
but felt like adrenaline was keeping me on my feet. However, Friday
night the fever returned. At this point, I had a negative COVID
[test] so I brushed it off. I was like f—k fish eggs.”
As the symptoms continued to persist, Eye was admitted to a
hospital over the weekend, at which point she elected to focus on
her health rather than push foward with the fight against Lee.
“Saturday morning, I had my morning shake out and felt normal, so
to speak,” Eye explained. “Took another allergy pill just in case,
took a nap, got up and went to the competition. I felt great
warming up but definitely shaky and off but me being me, I brushed
it off. Then Saturday night, [that’s] the worst I have ever felt in
my life. Body aches, fever, sweat more than I ever did even in a
weight cut. That’s when I feel like I couldn’t ignore it
anymore.
“Sunday I was admitted into the hospital with severe pain so bad, I
could barely stand or not cry. They are still running tests and it
looks like we have a clear diagnosis that I will share soon but I
will be spending a few days in the hospital.
“My team and I have decided to pop in this fight and focus on my
health,” Eye said. “There has been struggling for a year and it’s
my top priority. I already lost my gallbladder. I don’t plan to
lose anymore.”
Calvillo made a successful flyweight debut with a five-round
verdict over Eye at UFC on ESPN 10 in June 2020 but has since
dropped back-to-back fights against Jessica
Andrade and Katlyn
Chookagian.
Lee, meanwhile, halted a three-bout skid with a second-round
submission victory against Antonina
Shevchenko at UFC 262.